Father and Son
by forthelulz
Summary: A cute story about Ren and his son Men bonding together before they visited the Funbari Onsen for the reunion. one-shot


**Father and Son**

Ren Tao gritted his teeth as two large crimson eyes peeped into his own. He looked down, re-read the almost crumpled note he held in his free hand and the decided that the gods were against him. The message was short, straight to the point and written in neat cursive letters.

_I will be away for a while for training. Please take care of our bundle of joy my beloved. I will be back after a week. _

No signature to tell from whom it came from but he knew from the moment he saw dotted í's who penned the letter. And Ren almost wondered how his wife had craftily slipped away unnoticed without rousing even a bit of his suspicions. Oh, she's not that far away. If she was then he would've raised hell and dragged her back into the comforts of their home himself where he could keep her safe and happy. Probably just lurking somewhere down in the basement securely locked up in another Iron Maiden.

He seriously wanted to march downstairs to get his wife back. But disturbing Jeanne during her training often had dire consequences… like forfeiting his bedroom rights. And he'd rather not sleep on the couch at night, thank you very much.

Ren was a man. A manly man even if he allowed his dark locks of hair to grow up to his waist. And he had a reputation, a feral one to be exact. The heir of an illustrious clan whose lineage spanned centuries shouldn't be caught red handed doing a woman's job. Like changing smelly diaper nappies or be seen cooing adorably at a too cute for words silver haired infant.

But this small fragile child was his whole world. And he couldn't help it sometimes when he acted like a total fool. Like that time when he grinned like a maniac when he first saw Men pulverize a wooden toy or when he congratulated the little tyke the moment he pointed at Horohoro's picture and called the guy 'baka'. He vowed to himself that he would protect this innocent life from the harsh reality of being a shaman and to let this babe grow up without knowing pain and hatred. To surround him with sunshine and happiness that only two loving parents could give.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he cried out in pain when a small hand yanked the ends of his hair. Ren glared down at the little one year old whom he comfortably held in his arms. Tao Men blinked innocently at his father and suckled at his thumb.

"You shouldn't do that, little one" Ren smiled as his hand gently pried the strands out of his son's vice like grip. The little boy glowered right back at his father. So small and yet Men could assert himself like an adult, so much like Tao already. And his father couldn't be even more proud.

"Your mother has gone away again. I guess its only going to be you and me" Ren whispered. Men's eyes widened as if he understood what his father said.

"Da-da!" he chirped then he let out a giggle and showed a toothy smile.

The usually stiff Tao heir softened under his son's adorable gaze. Oh, too damn cute. Maybe he wouldn't mind watching over Men while his wife was away. Maybe he'd even bring this little one to the planned reunion this weekend back at the Funbari Onsen. And it would be quite fun to surprise those morons. He bet that they wouldn't even guess that he would be married and have a child. Not in a million years!

And Men could also meet the next Asakura heir. Ren felt excited all of a sudden as he wondered just how much stronger his son would be against that little Hana. Will Men beat him into a pulp someday? Or will Hana dominate over the younger child? Or maybe they could end up as good friends who could help each other in times of need.

Ah, the future looked bright. What will happen to the world shall now lie upon these innocent children. And Men showed so much promise. He will be stronger than his father and he will pave the way for the glory of the Tao Clan. And Ren promised to himself to protect that future at all costs so that 500 years from now Men's future descendants could have the chance to become the next Shaman King.

He sat down on a nearby couch and settled his son on his lap. The little babe comfortably laid himself against his father, contented and safe. The Tao heir pulled out an almost faded picture from his pocket. It was a photo of him and his friends taken before they went back to walk on their own separate paths. It made him smile. After seven years they shall all meet again to reminisce about the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of the Shaman Fight. All of them sharing a deep kinship until the day they die. He might deny it in front of his wife and her knowing smiles but deep inside he felt excited that he would meet his friends once again.

"These are my friends. We'll meet them next week, little one." Ren told his son. His finger moved to point at the people in the photo, feeling a bit proud that he had known such worthy allies. "Here is Yoh, Lyserg, Chocolove and…"

"DUMMY!" Men shouted at the top of his lungs just as his father pointed at Horohoro, his arms waving enthusiastically.

And Ren smirked, his hand rumpling his son's silky silver white hair.

Ah, the future looked bright indeed.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I just finished reading the Shaman King manga from chapter 1 to the last one. Talk about having a manga marathon! And I just loved the idea that Ren had a son. I loved it so much that I actually wrote this really short one-shot. Hee, little Men looks so freaking cute! I wish we could see more of him and Ren interacting together. The father and son duo was so damn cute.

Anyway, this is my first Shaman King fanfic. And its a short one too. Hopefully it was okay. I wanted to write something different from my on-going Ouran High School Host Club fanfic. Hmm… maybe I'll write a Ren and Jeanne get together fic in the future just for the lulz.

Review for great justice and make this author a happy one!


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